Fibromyalgia and melatonin – latest findings

Melatonin could play a role in fibromyalgia but the relationship is extremely complicated, experts highlight in research due to be published in Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology.
The research team measured the levels of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (6-SMT) – a marker of melatonin – in the urine of 58 women with fibromyalgia and 39 healthy women (matched for age and body mass index). The samples were collected from 8pm until 8am the next day.
Levels of 6-SMT were significantly lower in women with fibromyalgia than the healthy women.
They used four assessment tools, and found the scores of women with fibromyalgia were significantly different from the scores of the healthy women:
• Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire
• Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index
• Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey
• Satisfaction with Life Scale
But there was no correlation between the levels of 6-SMT and the scores.
“The results of this study do not discard the involvement of melatonin in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia, but may suggest that changes in melatonin levels when associated with other neuroimmunoendocrine changes [ie between the nervous system, hormonal system and immune response] may impact directly and negatively on the manifestation of symptoms that make up the clinical picture of fibromyalgia,” the research team concludes.

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